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Security Architecture Flashcards

1
Q

Access control is a way to discover

A

Who is accessing the information? (the Subject doing the accessing)
What is being accessed? (the Objects) being accessed)
How might the access occur? (the mechanism(s) used for access)

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2
Q

What are the major concepts of access control

A

Subject, Object, Permissions, Rights

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3
Q

What is the difference between a permission and a right

A

Through their rights (policy) users are granted permissions.

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4
Q

Describe the interaction between subjects, rights, permissions and objects

A

Subjects - WHO
Rights - HOW
Permissions - HOW
Objects - WHAT

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5
Q

Access control coupled with __________ establishes the basis for accountability

A

Auditing

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6
Q

Auditing is

A

The process of recording access control actions

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7
Q

A system should be governed by a written standard that specifies the rules applicable to the system. These rules are derived from

A
  • Laws
  • Regulations
  • Industry standards
  • Organisational policies
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8
Q

The compilation of rules applicable to a particular IT system forms the

A

security policy

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9
Q

The security policy addresses

A

managerial, operational, and technical security requirements for a system.

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10
Q

More often than not ______________________ in an IT system represents the bulk of the technical security within the security policy. The interpretation of the correct

A

access control and auditing

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11
Q

Access control at the network level tends to be more (1) such as allowing or disallowing access to (2)

A

connection oriented
ports and protocols associated with given IP addresses.

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12
Q

Each subject identified in an ACL is known as an

A

Access control entity

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13
Q

The _____________ is used to manage each ACL in the system

A

ACL repository

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14
Q

_____________ is the predominant access control technique in use today. Most commodity systems implement some form of it in some form.

A

Discretionary Access Control (DAC)

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15
Q

The underlying concept of DAC is

A

to give an object owner the discretion to decide who is authorised access to an object and to what extent.

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16
Q

Why does the read permission not always mean read only

A

In the case of files it normally also means read and copy

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17
Q

What is important to remember about the write permission

A

It can also mean to delete, because a file can be overwritten with a single byte

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18
Q

Given the Read, Write and Execute problems that attend DAC systems what are some implementation strategies that mitigate them

A
  1. Limit access to essential objects only.
  2. Label sensitive data.
  3. Filter information where possible.
  4. Promulgate guidance that prohibits unauthorised duplication of
    information.
    5 Conduct monitoring for noncompliance.
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19
Q

__________________________ is the primary means of controlling system integrity. Why do viruses often gain complete access to a system?

A

Preventing unauthorized modification of resources is the primary
means of controlling system integrity. Why do viruses often gain complete
access to a system? Excessive permissions on configuration settings and files allow the virus to write to or delete critical files.

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20
Q

Access control mechanisms that are neither DAC nor mandatory access control (MAC) are referred to as forms of

A

nondiscretionary access control.

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21
Q

Types of non-discretionary access control

A
  1. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
  2. Originator Controlled (ORCON)
  3. Digital Rights Management (DRM)
  4. Usage Controlled (UCON)
  5. Rule-Based Access Control -
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22
Q

MAC functions by associating 1. level with the 2. level of the target object. It is important to note that systems supporting

A
  1. A subject’s clearance level with
  2. The sensitivity level of the target object.
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23
Q

What are common reasons why users receive rights and permissions that go beyond what is needed for the task?

A
  • Lack of explicit definition of duties - Neither the user nor manager
    has a clear grasp or definition of the duties assigned to the
    individual.
  • Weak internal controls - Where explicit duties are known, changes
    in duties or access controls on the system may not be periodically
    reviewed for conflicts.
  • Complexities in administration - In very large, distributed
    organizations, it is difficult to know the access limitations that
    should be imposed when access control is centralized.
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24
Q

Security design efforts should consider various aspects that could affect
separation of duties. At a minimum, it should be possible to enforce separation of duties through the user access control mechanisms whether the designation is manual or automated. A system should have sufficient administrative flexibility to accommodate the following aspects:

A
  • Identify each explicit role
  • Assign appropriate permissions
  • Avoid unnecessary rights
  • mitigate workflow violation potential
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25
Q

What techniques can be used in small organisations to help with the problem of separation of duties?

A

Assign accounts on a per-role basis - An individual should have a
separate account for each role used.
Prevent those with multiple roles from reading and writing to the
same storage area
Auditing is vital - Consider implementing object-level auditing for
individuals with multiple roles.
Conduct more frequent evaluations

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26
Q

All of the technical security controls in a system are collectively referred to as

A

the Trusted Computing Base (TCB).

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27
Q

The overall security of a system is no stronger than

A

the most vulnerable components of the TCB

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28
Q

What are the most common components of the TCB of most enterprise systems.

A

Port Locking and Network Access Control (switches)
User management and resource control (Workstations and Servers)
Network Filtering and Access Control (Routers)
Business data access rules (Databases)
Boundary protections (firewalls)
Information Flow Control (Application servers)

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29
Q

A _________________ is the collection of components of a TCB that mediate all
access within a system. It is important to note that a security kernel may be

A

Security Kernel

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30
Q

The most common functions of the security kernel include

A

Authentication, auditing, and access control.

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31
Q

The operational aspect of the security functions is referred to as

A

The security reference monitor

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32
Q

What does a security reference monitor generally do

A

Compares an access request against a listing that describes the allowed actions

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33
Q

What does the acronym AAA refer to

A

Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting

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34
Q

An access control system that is centralised relies on a

A

A single device as the security reference monitor. Authorisation and access control decisions are made from the centralised device

35
Q

What are the approaches to achieving centralised access control

A
  1. The ACS proxies client requests - limits communication
  2. A gatekeeper mechanism - limits communication
  3. Free roaming on the network with control over individual access requests.
36
Q

What are the disadvantages of ACS

A

Single point of failure
Single point of compromise
Capacity

37
Q

A number of protocols exist that support centralized access control.

A

TACACS, TACACS+, RADIUS, and EAP are just a few of the most common access

38
Q

TACACS

A

Protocol supporting centralised access control
TACACS - This older protocol was originally used for authenticating
dial-up users. RFC 1492, “An Access Control Protocol, Sometimes
Called TACACS” (Finseth, 1993), describes the protocol and
suggests that the acronym is short for “Terminal Access Controller
Access Control System.” TACACS functions over UDP on port
49 or TCP on any locally defined port. This older protocol lacks
many important features found in others that were more recently
developed.

39
Q

A critical shortcoming in TACACS is

A

A critical shortcoming in TACACS is the lack of
encryption. All communication from a TACACS client to the
server is in cleartext. Using this protocol through an untrusted or
public network exposes the session and endpoints to a potential
compromise.

40
Q

TACACS+

A

Protocol supporting centralised access control
TACACS+ - This proprietary protocol by Cisco is based on
TACACS. It is primarily used with TCP on port 49. This protocol
overcomes the security weaknesses of its predecessor by providing
encryption for the packet payload. Authentication, Authorization,
and Accounting (AAA) capabilities are built into the protocol,
whereas it is missing from TACACS.

41
Q

Shortcoming of TACACS+

A

The use of AAA capabilities is implementation specific. Therefore, a security
architect must ensure that each TACACS+ implementation is consistent with the policy of the organization.

42
Q

RADIUS

A

Protocol supporting centralised access control
The Remote Authentication Dial In Service (RADIUS)
also has AAA capabilities built into the protocol. RADIUS
is a centralized access control protocol commonly used in the
telecommunications industry as well as by Internet service
providers. A network access server (NAS) acting as the gateway
to a network passes client access requests to the RADIUS server.

43
Q

EAP

A

Protocol supporting centralised access control
The Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a protocol
supporting multiple authentication methods. It operates above
the data link layer and therefore does not rely on IP.
Essentially a peer-to-peer protocol.
The protocol relies on the lower layer to ensure packet ordering, but
retransmissions are the responsibility of EAP.
Its design as an authentication protocol prohibits its use for data transport, which would be inefficient.

44
Q

Protection of the device used for centralised access control is vital.
List some the important counter measures

A

Reduce attack surface
Active monitoring
Device backup
Redundancy

45
Q

A collection of nodes that individually make access control decisions through a replicated database characterises a …

A

decentralized access control mechanism. The

46
Q

Although decentralized access control has advantages, it is not perfect. Some
of the issues that need to be considered when implementing decentralized access control include

A
  • Continuous synchronization considerations - The access control
    mechanism is only as current as the last synchronization. Excessive gaps in the time between synchronizations may allow inappropriate access to the system or objects.
  • Bandwidth usage - Synchronization events might consume a lot
    of bandwidth. Nodes joined through low-bandwidth connections
    may consume a disproportionate amount of bandwidth when
    synchronizing.
  • Physical and logical protection of each access control node - A
    compromise of one access control node could propagate a
    compromise to all. Successful attacks against the centralized
    database in one location could provide the attacker with the
    ability to attack any node participating in the architecture.
47
Q

Inconsistencies in security countermeasures are a common issue with systems using decentraliSed access control. Servers providing access control services could be located in different facilities in the same region or in different parts of the world. Ensuring that the intended design is consistently applied for each instance can be quite challenging.

A
  • Physical security
  • Management coordination
  • Remote maintenance (making it reachable to)
  • Exclusion from DMZ
48
Q

Design Considerations
There are a number of issues that must be carefully considered when
implementing federated access control.

A

Cooperative effort an agreement should establish a set of security
requirements that must be met by the participants.
Mutual risk - Abuses and attacks must be considered ahead of time to ensure that appropriate countermeasures and responses are in place prior to accepting subject identities of external organisations within the federation.
Utilize a DMZ - Use proxy servers within the DMZ to
retrieve information that is needed. Avoid storing sensitive
information in the DMZ.
Exclude access control integration - it is better to establish a centralised access control system dedicated to the support of a federated access control rather than mix outsiders with those on the inside.

49
Q

The X.500 Directory Specification provides

A

A framework to specify the attributes used to create a directory as well as the methods used to access its objects

50
Q

The IETF has defined an alternative method to access an
X.500-based directory over IP that is known as

A

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

51
Q

The latest Microsoft servers rely extensively on their proprietary DAP implementation known as

A

Active Directory

52
Q

Directory specifications such as X.500 enable an organization to publish
information in a way that

A

Supports hierarchical access to structured information.

53
Q

How is PKI vulnerable

A

Depends on the physical security of the device with the private key

54
Q

Traditionally, there have been two distinct approaches to Security
Management:

A

Security Event Management (SEM) and
Security Information Management (SIM).

55
Q

What are the six capabilities of a SIEM system

A
  1. Data aggregation
  2. Correlation
  3. Alerting
  4. Dashboards
  5. Compliance
  6. Retention
56
Q

What does the correlation function of an SIEM refer to

A

The ability to use correlation techniques to integrate data from different sources.

57
Q

A ________________ is the principal subject of interest within an access control
mechanism.

A

A system user is the principal subject of interest within an access control
mechanism.

58
Q

Ideally, ________________ will be subject to an access control mechanism.

A

every object

59
Q

What is the significant drawback of ODBC

A

SQL commands are sent in clear text

60
Q

What do security architects often use to get around the security hazards of allowing direct connections to database

A

Three-tier Web-based applications are a frequently used architecture to
provide controlled access to organizational data.

61
Q

Three-tier Web-based applications are a frequently used architecture to
provide controlled access to organizational data. Implementing this type of
architecture has its benefits and drawbacks. Discuss the benefits

A
  1. A web browser can be used instead of proprietary applications
  2. Provides a method of allowing multiple users to get access to the sites
  3. Communication channels can be encrypted
62
Q

Three-tier Web-based applications are a frequently used architecture to
provide controlled access to organizational data. Implementing this type of
architecture has its benefits and drawbacks. Discuss the drawbacks

A
  1. Increased complexity
  2. Vulnerability to cross site scripting
  3. Middle tier security (a breach of the server could result in a breach of the data)
63
Q

Managing through the use of groups is indeed a double-edged sword. Although it provides substantial power to mitigate risk, when not properly managed it can cause other problems. Some issues facing a security architect when controls governing group management fail are the following:

A

Orphaned groups
Duplicated groups
Separation of duty violations
Failures in least privilege

64
Q

Administering group membership is an aspect of

A

Identity management

65
Q

Groups and roles are both a type of collection, but differ in their application.
Groups are collections of ______, while roles are collections of ___________.

A

Users
Rights and permissions

66
Q

An important aspect of an RBAC implementation is _________________,
which is the fundamental attribute used to establish separation of duties.

A

mutual exclusivity

67
Q

How can the implementation of RBAC differ from one vendor to another

A

RBAC, similar to DAC, is not exactly the same from one vendor to the next.
Some vendor products claiming to support RBAC simply allow the designation
of a group of rights and permissions as a role, while others make an effort to
implement most of its desirable aspects. Ideally, an RBAC-enabled product will allow the allocation of multiple roles and the ability to specify mutual exclusivity.

68
Q

A true implementation of RBAC is predicated on a mechanism that enforces its attributes. However, this may not be practical or feasible for resource-constrained organisations using commodity systems that desire this type of access control. In these cases what can one do

A

groups could be used to mimic role-based access.

69
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access what should one do on creation of the groups

A

Create groups as if they were roles. The mantra of fully documenting
all aspects is essential here. A detailed listing of the attributes and
uses of each group as a role is required. Inadequate or inconsistent
specification for the design and use of groups as roles will yield
less than desirable results.

70
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access what should one do with respect to objects

A

Identify which objects in the system should have permissions associated with the roles

71
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access what should one avoid assigning to groups

A

groups

72
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access what should one avoid assigning on objects

A

Refrain from assigning account permissions on objects. Maintaining
role-based access means that individual accounts should be
assigned permissions only through the use of roles. This may be
problematic for service and system accounts, but in most cases
should not be too difficult for accounts assigned to people.

73
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access should one allow users to have multiple accounts?

A

Yes, Issue users multiple accounts. This is necessary if varying levels
of rights are needed. This does not mean a user must have an
account for each role, but rather, the inclusion of a member in
a “role” must not create a situation where an account can easily
circumvent its intended use. In this regard, a solid identity
management methodology increases in importance.

74
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access how could system services be used

A

Web-based services, portals, databases, and other automation techniques
could act as intermediaries between subjects and objects.
Designing services as a way to proxy access to objects without
actually interacting with them can be used as a way to enforce
role-based access for critical resources.

75
Q

When using groups to mimic role-based access how should one audit and monitor the system

A

monitor for inappropriate permissions and
audit for misuse

76
Q

What are the attributes to consider in Task Based Access control TBAC

A

Time
Sequence
Dependencies

77
Q

What is the standard for Task Based Access Control (TBAC)

A

The concept of TBAC is still an emerging topic. Presently, there are no
accepted standards or definitions of what TBAC entails. However, this does not detract from the usefulness of implementing access control according to the attributes of a task in a workflow. Indeed, many organizations already implement types of access control in workflows. A number of document collaboration suites implement workflows and make use of TBAC enforcement attributes.

78
Q

The routing access control list specifies

A

subnets or addresses that are accessible from a segment

79
Q

The routing access control list specifies subnets or addresses that are accessible from a segment. The critical point here is that

A

Different segments should be physically separated until they are connected to the node applying the logical access controls. This prevents an insider from spoofing an address in an alternate subnet and bypassing access controls based on physical location.

80
Q

The idea of using access controls for network segments assumes that requests for resource access originate from a node within the segment, when is this not the case

A

When the segment has been compromised by a bot or a trojan

81
Q

Enabling access controls according to device type is dependent on
two important factors:

A
  1. Device recognition - Each device type must be recognizable in some
    way by the access control mechanism.
  2. Policy enforcement - Access control decisions are made according
    should not be allowed to connect and pass traffic in the network.
82
Q

What happens with network based access control using physical and logical addresses

A

The rules regarding what the device is allowed to communicate with would be encoded into Layer 2 devices, Layer 3 devices, and monitoring devices.

83
Q

What happens with network based access control using 802.1X standard

A

As devices connect to the network, they are authenticated according to the certificate presented. A
RADIUS server is used to support device authentication.

84
Q
A

Security (9 decks)

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